With the water shutdown at the Nagado Water Treatment Plant scheduled to take place next week from 1am on Saturday morning (29th September) until midnight Tuesday (2nd October, 2018) the Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) held a consultation with its key stakeholders at the Nadi Civic Centre today (20/09).
WAF Board Director, Mr Kamal Gounder reminded those present of the importance of storing sufficient amounts of water to last for at least four days.
“Please, start saving and storing your back up water supply. It is very important that WAF conducts the installations of the new Vanessa valves at the Nagado Treatment Plant as this will allow Fijians in the Western Division to have a more reliable and fully operational water treatment plant in the long run,” said Mr Gounder.
Mr Gounder said that to sufficiently satisfy water requirements over the shutdown period each household should store at least 200 litres of water for drinking and cooking purposes. However, for additional household water needs, more water is to be stored accordingly.
A total of 150 water tanks of 5,000litres capacity will be placed at strategic locations within the affected areas – this is to allow members of the public to refill their containers and gallons.
The Board Director reiterated that WAF was committed to ensuring that such works are implemented in order for the Authority to provide clean and safe drinking water to its customers.
While presenting to the stakeholders, WAF General Manager for Customer Services, Mr Sekove Uluinayau said that the Authority will ensure that during the shutdown period, minimum interruption to major services such as hospitals, airport, schools and hotels as water carting trucks will be deployed accordingly.
“WAF is kindly requesting its customers residing in these areas to support this essential operation by storing sufficient water prior to the shutdown and use water wisely for immediate needs during the shutdown period,” said Mr Uluinayau.
Meanwhile, in attendance were representatives from various hotel operators, town and city councils, businesses, Airports Fiji Limited, and other customers. During the consultation, WAF had also received positive commendations from the many stakeholders that were in attendance.
The Authority highly regrets any inconvenience caused to its customers and is committed to getting water supply normalized as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, customers in Nadi and Lautoka can contact the Authority through the emergency toll-free shortcode 1507 or email waterhelp@waf.com.fj for further enquiries. This will be available 24 hours a day, during the shutdown period.